An operating system of a user computing device may provide a notification component, the purpose of which is to notify the user of occurrences that pertain to one or more applications installed on the user computing device and/or on remote computing functionality. For example, assume that the user computing device hosts a calendar application. The calendar application sends notification information to the notification component when a calendar-related occurrence has occurred, such as a change in a scheduled meeting time. In response, the notification component may display a notification on a display device, for consumption by the user who is interacting with the user computing device. In some implementations, the notification component can allow the user to activate the calendar application by interacting with the notification. Overall, a traditional notification component presents insight into what is happening with respect to an application running on one or more computing devices, for sole consumption by the user who is interacting with that application.